Iranian Minister: Zionists Have Many Enemies

Iran’s Defense Minister denies his country was behind the attacks on Israeli embassies, says they are a result of Israel's poor popularity.

By Elad Benari

First Publish: 2/15/2012, 3:15 AM

Mumbai, India

Flash 90

Iran’s Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi denied on Tuesday that his country was behind the attacks on the Israeli embassies in Georgia and India, saying they occurred as a result of Israel’s poor popularity in the world.

“The Zionist regime [of Israel] has many enemies in various parts of the world and these incidents might have been carried out by different groups or individuals,” Vahidi told the Iranian-based Press TV.

“Israel cannot possibly enjoy popularity among the nations hurt by this regime’s acts,” Vahidi said, adding Israel lacks the power and the courage to launch a military action against Iran.

Addressing Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s recent demand of Israeli officials to “stop blabbing” about an attack on the Islamic Republic, Vahidi claimed Netanyahu’s request was made “because these remarks will be proved impossible after a while.”

He added, “The Zionist regime has no image in the world, but is seeking to keep the hollow image, which it is trying to build for itself, from falling apart.”

Netanyahu blamed Iran for Monday’s attacks, saying that “Iran, the largest exporter of terrorism in the world,” along with its client Hizbullah, were behind the attacks.

Iran, however, denied Netanyahu’s accusations and claimed that Israel itself was behind the attacks and that it carried them out “to tarnish Iran’s friendly ties with the host countries.”